Vuda Point Fiji to Aneityum the new name for Anatom Vanuatu.

We left Vuda Point  Fiji on our way to Vanuatu. Our first stop was Anatom Island, We anchored in Anelcauhat bay for a few days where we visited the village and also went to Mystery Island which only opens when a Cruise ship comes, which one came on Monday Which we went to visit and see all the all the tourist from the Cruise ship buying the local wares from the villagers of Anelcauhat . The people from the cruise ship are not allowed to go to the village of Anelcauhat. That is why Mystery Island is set up for the Cruise Ship only.  More pictures will follow.

Vuda Point Marina Fiji.

The Marina is in the shape of a horse shoe.

All yachts squeezed into their berth.

More yachts

Coming into the marina.

Our good friends Ed and Fran. 

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Sunrising as we are closing in on Vanuatu.

Our first photo of the village of  Anelcauhat . An outrigger used by the villagers for fishing.

Episcopalian school.

Headmaster of  school.

Flower garden planted by students.

Vegetable garden  planted by students.

Meeting room

Episcopalian church

Very simple but nice.

Villagers net fishing.

Local grocery store.

Where they come to wash their cloths.

Cruise ship anchored in the bay. It arrived on Monday.

Children from the village of Anelcauhat where we dropped the anchor.

Coming into our first of call ,the island of Anatom. This picture should have been at the very top.

TANNA TO PORT VILA, VANUATU

September 19- 20, 2013

We set sail from Port Resolution on the island of Tanna at 0730 hrs. for Port Vila: distance 137 nm.  Once again, the Trade Winds were favorable and blowing 20 kts.  We made our best downwind sail ever with speeds of 7.8 to 8.0 kts:  that's flying for us.  All this was under a reefed main and jib.

Port Vila is a small cosmopolitan town, a melting pot of Melanesian, European and Asian cultures.  There are about 66,000 people living here.  It is where all the luxury hotels, businesses and tourist activities can be found.  All the imported items from Paris, USA and other countries are found here and can be bought "Tax Free".  It is an artificial enclave within a country that has very little development.  Outside of Port Vila, on the other islands, they are still using dugout canoes and in the interior of some of the islands, the men still wear "nambas" which are leaf penis wrappings.  The hierarchy in these villages are:  Men, Pigs, Women.  It is very much a male dominated culture but you wouldn't know that by being in Port Vila.  In fact you wouldn't know very much about Vanuatu by visiting Port Vila which is on Efate Island.

We haven't seen much of Vanuatu: Aneityum and Tanna.  The original plan was to sail on up the islands to Epi, Malakula, Espiritu Santo, Pentacost, Ambrym and back to Port Vila for check out to New Caledonia.  Unfortunately, our sailing window is getting short before the cyclone season sets in again from the beginning of November to May.  We still have over one thousand miles to sail to make Brisbane, Australia.  Therefore, we have decided to sail directly from Port Vila to Noumea, New Caledonia.  This will give us time to see another country and wait for a weather window for sailing to Brisbane which we plan to do at the end of October or early November.  We have to wait on a favorable Trade Wind to make New Caledonia which is only 328 nm from here.  Will have more to say about this.

ANEITYUM TO TANNA, VANUATU

September 17, 2013 Tuesday

We weighed anchor at 0530 hrs in the morning to sail to Port Resolution (19-31.5' S; 169-29.8' E) on the island of Tanna.  Port Resolution was named by Captain Cook on his voyage around the world in 1774.  It is a "rolly" anchorage when the SE Trades are blowing but the holding is good.  The main attraction of Tanna is the volcano on Mt Yasur and a strange cult in a few villages called the "John Frum Cargo Cult".  The volcano is the most spectacular and exciting thing we have seen in the South Pacific.  It is accessed by truck on some of the most horrendous roads we have experienced.  Interestingly enough, the truck takes you almost to the top of the volcano.  It is a 600 ft walk to the rim of the crater.  There is no volcano crater in the world that is this accessible.  Upon approaching the rim there are violent explosions throwing up unbelievable amounts of magma several hundred feet into the air.  In no other country would they permit people to approach this close to an active volcano.  Several people have been killed in the past from molten lava being thrown up.  As evening approaches on the rim of the volcano, the boiling bubbling core of the volcano becomes even more impressive:  the explosions are incredible and the sound deafening.  One is thrown aback by it and feels the heat as the magma is thrown into the air and lands as red hot stones on the crater wall.  All this is happening within 200 ft of the people standing on the rim.  We have never experienced such a scary exciting display of Nature's Power.  We stayed on the rim for a few hours as darkness displayed the molten core.  The explosions came in about three minute intervals.

The "John Frum Cargo Cult " village is essentially a love affair with America.  It started during WW II when the natives witnessed the Americans building air force bases for retaking the Soloman Islands from the Japanese.  For the first time in their lives, they saw Black and White people working together on equal status - at least that is the way they perceived it.  The locals were treated with respect and paid for their labor.  When the Americans leave the island, a strange figure emerges named John Frum.  He tells the people that one day the Americans will return and bring them untold riches.  The John Frum believers continue on what they saw the Americans doing at their base:  marching to the Marine Core music and carrying American flags, etc.  Google this and have fun reading about the villages that continue with this cult worship.  "John Frum" really means "John From America"!

Port Resolution was too rolly so we departed for Port Vila on September 19th at 0730 hrs.

VUDA POINT, FIJI TO ANEITYUM, VANUATU

Sewptember 9-13, 2013

We departed Vuda Point Marina at 1200 hrs enroute to Anelghowat (20-14.8' S; 169-43.6 E), Aneityum, Vanuatu: distance 476 nm.  The old name for Vanuatu was New Hebrides.  It was changed to the original name after independence in 1980.  The Trade Winds were blowing from the SE at 15-20 kts.  Our course was 237 deg. so this gave us a good angle for sailing and we were averaging around 7.0 kts under a reefed mainsail and jib.  The first two days out were pleasant but we had a fairly big swell from the SE.  On the third day the winds started to go light and we dropped off to about 4.5 kts.  About 40 nm from Aneityum the wind died out completely so we ended up motoring the final 40 nm and arrived off Anelghowat at 0500 hrs in the morning of September 13th.  We  laid ahull until first light and then motored into the quarantine anchorage and dropped anchor at 0730 hrs on Friday September 13th.

In general, sailors are suspicious of Fridays the 13ths.  If we have a choice, we don't set out on a voyage on that date unless it is absolutely necessary.  This was an ending voyage but the 13th jinxed the checking in process.  I put up the yellow quarantine flag after dropping anchor and waited on Customs, Immigration and Health.  I called many times on the VHF Channel 16 radio but received no reply.  By the afternoon, it was obvious that they weren't coming to the boat so we launched the dinghy and went searching them out.  When I got to the police station, it was closed.  What to do?  so  I talked to some people living nearby and they told me that he police officer had gone East to another village and wouldn't return until the evening.  Returned to the boat and waited until the following day which was Saturday.  Once again, I went into the village and inquired about the Customs officer and was told that he was on the beach.  OK, I found him sitting in the sand and watching some others fishing.  After identifying him and giving our boat name, I was informed that they don't check-in vessels on the weekend.  If not, could we walk around the town?  He said " yes" no problem.  We made an appointment to come in at 0800 hrs on Monday for the clearance.

Monday at 0700 hrs we were in front of the police station waiting on the officer.  There were two other cruisers that had made appointments.  A cruise ship was due to arrive that day and our man didn't show at the appointed time but took off in a boat for "Mystery Island" where all the Australian passengers go from the cruise ship.  Later in the day, we tracked him down on "Mystery Island" and got the clearance paper to sail for the island of Tanna.   Anelghowat is just a small village with one grocery store and a schoolhouse but not much else: we sailed out on at 0530 hrs for the island of Tanna (19-31.5' S; 169-29.8' E)